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Linn County recorder sees passport workload spike; state guidance on gender marker pending
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Summary
Deputy recorder Don Frozzi told the Board that passport applications and recording activity rose sharply in recent months, producing roughly $72,000 more in passport fees and about $57,000 in recording fees over the prior year; guidance on the recent federal gender-marker change is still pending from passport services.
Don Frozzi, deputy recorder for Linn County, told the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 that passport applications have increased significantly over the past three months compared with the prior year, and that the office recorded approximately $72,000 more in passport fees during that period.
Frozzi said the increase stems in part from fewer passport appointment options in the county, with the post office canceling appointments and sending applicants to the recorder's office, and from more families obtaining passports so that all household members have travel documents. "We have now become really the only passport option in the county and so we have seen a dramatic increase in traffic," Frozzi said.
Frozzi also said he is awaiting federal guidance after an executive order and application changes affected the availability of the "X" gender designation on passport application forms. "The executive order specifies that any current passports will remain valid until they expire, but when they renew those passports they will have to provide documentation for the male or female gender designation instead," Frozzi said. He added that the recorder's office has not yet received instructions about how to process applications that were filed with an X designation but not yet processed.
On real-estate recordings, Frozzi reported about a 45 percent increase in recordings over the same three-month period last year; he said that resulted in roughly $57,000 more in recording fees and about $23,000 in county revenue for the general fund. The office also recently rebid a budget-statement mailer and expects a fee-modernization change under consideration at the state level to increase county recording revenues if it passes.
Frozzi said the office is exploring appointment-only passport windows, translation services to assist non-English speakers and cross-training staff to reduce bottlenecks such as passport photos. He noted that passport processing requires specialized, segregated duties and that smaller counties sometimes cannot meet federal separation requirements to operate a passport service.
Ending: Frozzi said the recorder's office will continue to seek guidance from passport services and to explore administrative steps to manage the increased workload.
